


Luck of the Irish

by GettheSalt



Series: About Holidays [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Domestic, F/F, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, St Patrick's day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 07:22:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6275068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GettheSalt/pseuds/GettheSalt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Waiting for that yes or no call can drive you mad. Especially if it comes, and your wildest fears come true, and it's not the answer you hoped for. For Leo and Grant, after a week of waiting, all they want is a little luck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Luck of the Irish

“You do know that St. Patrick's isn't even a real holiday?” Leo asked, shaking his head at Skye on the computer monitor. She was carefully done up in a number of different hues of green, from head to toe, and proud of the fact, if the way she was turning around for the webcam was any indication.

“You do know that I'm still in pinching distance of Trip?” Skye shot back, pulling the computer chair back and dropping into it. “That, and a few of the new recruits wanted to do a pub crawl, and invited me along, so, I figured, why not?”

Leo raised his eyebrows, looking at Skye as critically as he could, given that they were talking through skype. “Aren't you technically a full agent now?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“Isn't that technically the kind of thing that will get Coulson to give you a citation?”

Skye shrugged, grinning. “If he notices. He's been so damn busy, lately, with being SHIELD's Avengers liaison, I haven't seen him for what feels like weeks.” Her fingers drummed on the desk in front of her. “Sometimes I wonder if I should just stand outside his quarters and scream that you guys have been chosen for the adoption so he'll show his- Oh.”

Leo knew well the expression that his face had fallen into when Skye had said what she did. The other was joking, really, trying to keep things lighthearted, and make fun of the fact that Coulson was fairly invested and excited at the prospect of being an honorary 'grandpa'. Leo knew that, and still, her words did nothing but wake up the seed of anxiety he'd been trying desperately to ignore all week. It was starting to become almost painful, but that wasn't something he'd tell Skye.

Hell, he hadn't even told Grant. Not with words, anyway. He suspected it was hard for Grant not to know when Leo curled up against his side and held his phone tight in his fist like it was a lifeline.

“No, it's all right.” He waved his hand, knowing that the fact that he wasn't even looking at the monitor gave away that it _wasn't_ all right. “The agency told us we would know by the 18 th. They still have a few days to call.”

“They do.” Skye said firmly. “So don't give up yet. You're not a quitter, Leo Fitz.”

“Fitz-Ward.” Leo corrected her, smiling slightly, earning a bright smile back from her.

“See? Come on, you've got the house, the car, the dog, and the husband. The kid? That's on the way. I know you guys will end up on top of this. Don't throw in the towel, yet.”

Leo laughed. “Mind if I call you back when Grant gets home from work? He's doing that stoic thing.” He didn't even need to finish speaking before Skye was nodding grandly. “You know the one.”

“Pretending he's a one man island, and that he's holding together just fine, and nothing touches his heart.”

While that wasn't entirely accurate, it was about as close a description as Leo could have asked for. “That's the one. He pretends like this isn't eating away at him, a lot of the time, too, but I know that it is, and he knows that I know that it is. It's sort of pointless, and I don't know why he does it, but... Well, that's Grant. I signed up for that when I married him.”

“You did,” Skye agreed, turning back and forth in her computer chair, rocking it with her foot on the desk. “You two balance each other out, though. He can be stoic, and try to bottle it all up, and you're... Not. You don't keep that to yourself. I'm sure you guys have this.”

Leo smiled, crossing his arms on the desk. “Have you ever considered retiring from SHIELD to be a motivational speaker, Skye?”

“Yeah, right. And miss all the fun?” Her eyes flicked over the screen, to the clock that Leo knew was mounted on the wall there. “Speaking of missing the fun, I have to head over to HQ to drop off a few requisition forms and meet with Jem for lunch. You want me to pass on your love?”

“Please.” Leo said. “And try not to let the new recruits get you too smashed tonight.”

Skye winked at him, reaching forward to rest her hand on the button that would power down their video conversation. “I'll do my best. See, you're already talking like a dad.” Her smile softened. “See you later, Leo.”

“Yeah. Bye, Skye.”

Once the screen had gone dark, Leo had to admit that it was time to start the day. This had been a week that he'd been given leave to work from home, given the fact that, any day, he and Grant could be getting a call that would make or break the whole thing. Leo, knowing himself, had opted not to add to his stress levels. It was a good thing, but it might have been better if he had Grant around for company. The last few mornings, Skye had been wonderful company, talking with Leo before she went to handle her trainees. On Tuesday, Jemma had even been able to catch him before she needed to head to SHIELD's New York City headquarters for the day. Having company helped him keep his mind from wandering.

Not that Scout wasn't excellent company. As if on cue, the chinook trotted into his office, careful to only come a little past the door. They had trained Scout from early on to be wary of their offices, especially Leo's. They never knew if the dog's excited tail wagging might knock over a delicate table and disturb something Leo was in the middle of working on. Scout had taken to his training remarkably well. Whether that was thanks to Grant's hard work, or the dog's own intelligence, Leo wasn't sure.

“Hey, boy.” Leo greeted, getting up from his desk and walking over, ruffling the fur between the dog's ears on his way by. “You want to go for a walk?”

Scout perked, trotting after Leo as he went towards the front door. This had been Leo's routine all week. He would wake up with Grant, and, if he was feeling awake enough, he'd join him in the shower. If not, he'd lay in bed, scooting to bury his face in Grant's pillow, waiting in between sleeping and waking while his husband showered and shaved and got ready for the day. By the time Grant got out of the bathroom, he'd be willing to extract himself from their warm bed and pull on clothes to join Grant for breakfast. Twice, Grant had let Leo drive him to work, if just for the benefit of more time together. This morning had been one of those mornings. Then Leo would come home, have a cup of coffee, and chat with Skye, before getting up and taking Scout for a walk that could last anywhere from an hour to two hours. He found ways to fill his afternoons. Today, he was allowing himself the free time to catch up on a few shows, before he'd head out to the FBI Campus to pick Grant up. It was Grant's night to cook dinner, and he'd left two big steaks on a plate in the fridge to defrost. Leo was looking forward to it.

Almost as much as Scout was looking forward to his walk. The dog was dancing around Leo's legs, tail wagging as Leo got a wad of plastic bags from the holder by the door and pulled on his – _technically_ Grant's – Boston Bruins hoodie.

“I see you, I see you,” Leo singsonged, pulling on his shoes before he straightened and unhooked Scout's leash. The effect on the dog was immediate; the wagging and dancing stopped and he sat down primly where he'd been standing, pulling his tongue back into his mouth and looking up at Leo expectantly. Everything in his expression screamed for Leo to hurry and put the leash on, because he wanted to go for a walk _as soon as possible_.

“Okay, boy.” Leo clipped the leash on, and grabbed his keys from the table by the door before opening it. “Let's go.”

Scout didn't take much cajoling. He was out the door before Leo was, not tugging at the leash, but stretching it almost to its limit while he waited for Leo to lock the door.

They had done a good job of training him. Or, well, Grant had. Leo had done what he could to help, but he was a little less strict about some things than Grant was. For instance, Leo would let Scout cuddle on the couch with him. Grant wouldn't. Leo would feed Scout scraps from his peanut butter toast in the morning. Grant absolutely didn't. Still, Scout was well trained, and sweet, and exactly what they had needed to round out the house when they had first moved in.

Plus, he was a big hit with the neighbours. The few that were out this morning waved, and came down to the end of their driveways to pet Scout and ask Leo how he was doing. The few on either side of them had gotten fairly friendly with the two of them. It was nice to have neighbours that didn't shun them for being a gay couple, and who were actually interested in how their adoption attempts were going.

Leo had to repeat himself a few times (“no, nothing yet. Yes, thank you, I'll let you know as soon as we know, of course.”) before he and Scout cleared the neighbourhood, and made it to the woods, and the path that was well-known to the three of them.

True, quitting SHIELD had meant a serious change of routine for both Leo and Grant, but they had made do for that with things like this. Making routine with things that were good for them, but also good for their small 'us and the dog' family. Sure, there were evenings when they had gotten off work and had dinner, and Leo wanted nothing more than to drag Grant in front of the tv, cuddle up and watch something mindless before they had to go to bed to do it all again the next day, and sometimes, just sometimes, Grant indulged that. But, for the most part, at least once a day, the three of them set out on this path for an evening walk.

Scout had come to know it well. When they had first moved out here, and put this routine into place, Scout had been half-mad, running all over the path, sniffing everything, investigating any smell that caught him off guard. Now, the dog walked calmly at Leo's side, tail wagging, showing his happiness at being outside, on a walk. They had handled getting Scout to be a good, loyal, obedient dog with barely any problems. Sure, a child would be a whole other level of challenge, but, weren't they ready for that? Wasn't that the next logical step?

Weren't they both feeling that ache?

Those were the questions that Leo had asked Grant, the first night Grant had finally stayed put, and let him open the brochure, and open up and ask. Grant, for all of his skills and abilities, had been so hesitant, and so _scared_ about how this could go. It had taken weeks of talking, and fighting, and passive aggressive actions before they had gotten to their first real, open talk about it. An article about adoption that Leo had printed out and left on Grant's passenger seat would end up half destroyed in the shredder tucked beside Leo's desk in the office. A casual ' _look how cute that baby is_ ' would be responded to with a subject change so fast Leo wondered if Grant got whiplash attempting it. A frustrated ' _why not?_ ' would garner an equally frustrated ' _you shouldn't have to ask me that_ '.

Thinking back on those couple weeks, Leo couldn't believe that they had come this far. It didn't seem like that long ago that he was standing in front of Grant, barely restraining himself from yelling, telling him that whatever he was afraid of wasn't going to be an issue. It wasn't that long ago, really, that Grant had nodded in response, and admitted that he wanted it, too, but Leo was right, he was scared.

They'd gotten through that all together, and Leo had thought that _that_ would be the hardest thing they would have to overcome in their married life. He knew that was naive, that things could come up, but of the things they could relatively control, it had felt like the hardest. And now, deep into the process, and agonizing over that yes or no phone call, Leo realized that getting past Grant's fears about being a parent had just been the first hurdle in this process.

The rejections had hurt, most of all the one that had them just about in the hospital's nursery before the worker informed them that the mother had changed her mind. If they were about to get another rejection from Alicia and Nolan, he was glad that he had the rest of the week, and the weekend, off to feel that hurt.

This was the only problem with how well behaved Scout was on his walks, now, Leo thought, smiling down at the dog. He didn't keep Leo's mind nearly as occupied as he'd like it to be, but half an hour into their walk, they were coming up on the park, and that would do wonders for Leo's state of mind. He'd find a decent stick, and play fetch with Scout for a while. Distract both of them, and pass the time. It would get his hand out of his pocket, where he was clutching his phone, as well, and that would probably do wonders for how much he was thinking about that phone call they had yet to receive.

Not for the first time that week, Leo thought about the fact that Grant had had the right idea in staying at work. He was consistently busy with the trainees going in and out of his sessions, there would be no time to dwell on whether or not that call had come in. Grant kept his phone on him during the work day, but it was on silent, and when it was silent, it was _silent_. Not even the vibration settings were allowed.

The difference between Grant's work and Leo's work, though, were huge. Leo's work was team work, yes, much of the time, but a greater chunk of his time was spent alone, going over projects and consulting on the plans for others. He wasn't afraid to say he had a damn brilliant mind, exactly the kind of mind that NASA had wanted and needed, but the problem with what he did was that it was far too easy for him to be productive at work, and have the whole adoption thing stewing, not even on a back burner, but right there while he went over designs for improvements to the next launch's engines. It tended to make him volatile, and for that reason he had taken himself out of the equation for the week. Working from home was better than working at the facility, even if it meant he needed to spend a lot of time answering inquiries over email instead of in person. It was better to do that, when he could control his tones and words, than in person, where the stress of work plus this adoption fiasco might make him snap on a poor undeserving intern who just _had_ to ask a stupid question.

Grant knew his shortcomings, and Leo knew that _this_ , the way he handled high stress, would be one of his. He'd gotten better, since Jemma had first gotten them dragged into the field with Coulson and the team, but he knew that all it took was for the right amount of pressure to be applied, and he'd go off like a boiling kettle. It was what he'd have to work on as they went into fatherhood.

If they went into fatherhood.

“Scout.” Leo announced, leaning down to unclip the dog's leash as they stood at the edge of the empty park. “I'm going to make myself crazy, worrying about this.”

Scout tipped his head to the side and chuffed, as though in agreement, before licking Leo's hand and bounding off into the wide, green space to find a suitable stick to play fetch. It was a routine they had gotten used to, and while off-leash dogs were fairly common, and allowed, here, many of the neighbours had commented that it was amazing how well-trained and self sufficient Scout was. Especially this week, the dog had been doing a damn good job of taking care of Leo while Grant was away. Such good behaviour, Leo reasoned, deserved a treat. After a few rounds of fetch, he'd made up his mind about what that treat would be, and opened his mouth to ask Scout if he wanted to go to the pet store, fully knowing the dog's answer wouldn't be words, but, rather, a joyful bark and a prance that would end in him nudging Leo's side and nosing the leash.

That's what would have happened, if Leo's cell phone ringing hadn't cut him off.

Scout was trotting back with his stick held proudly in his mouth, but he slowed to a walk as Leo tugged the phone loose, almost like he knew how tense this was. It wasn't like he was a stupid dog. Any animal could pick up on their human companion's stress, and looking at his phone while in his shaky hand, Leo knew it wouldn't be hard for Scout to understand why he suddenly wasn't smiling any more.

This was it.

It seemed like an eternity passed before Leo hit the 'answer' button on the third ring, and raised the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Hello. Is this Mr. Leo Fitz-Ward I'm speaking with?”

Leo recognized Rhonda's voice. She'd been the one working with them at the agency for the entirety of their time with them, and she had facilitated their interview with Alicia and Nolan, the couple whose baby they hoped to become parents to.

“Yeah. I mean, yes, hi. Hello, Rhonda.”

“Oh, I'm glad I got you. I know that Grant doesn't usually have his phone with him at work, and with it being a weekday, I knew you two might be hard to get a hold of.”

Leo nodded, before remembering she couldn't see that. “Y-Yeah. No, I'm here.”

“That's good. I would really like to deliver this news to you personally, Leo, because I know you two have been waiting.” She paused, and Leo lifted the phone's mouth piece away from his mouth so he could take a shaky breath. “As you were told, we would be communicating Alicia's decision to you by no later than the 18th, and as this is the 17th...”

Leo listened to her speak, eyes locked on Scout. He had dropped his stick, and settled into a sitting position. He wasn't begging for it to be thrown, or even begging for attention. He was simply sitting there, watching, and waiting.

And when Leo blinked hard, fighting back tears, Scout moved forward, nudging his hand.

“Thank you.” Leo said, struggling to keep his voice even. “Yeah, thanks. Um. I guess we'll see you?” He waited for Rhonda's reply, and nodded at nothing once again. “All right. Thanks, Rhonda. I'll call you back, I just...” He took a breath has his voice broke. “Yeah, I want to talk to Grant, you guessed it.”

Everything was a blur from there. Phone put back in his pocket, leash put back on Scout's collar, Leo walked at top speed, back towards the house, Scout at his side, regularly checking on him, once or twice making a small, concerned whining noise. All Leo wanted to do was drop, there, on the sidewalk that led from the path to their street, and hold the dog, but he couldn't. First of all, because he needed, more than anything, to get to Grant. Second of all, because doing that would lead the nieghbours to notice, and would lead to questions, and right now Leo couldn't deal with that.

Right now, he needed to get to Grant.

It was all he could think as he led Scout inside, made sure he had fresh water, and told him he was a good boy. Safe inside the house, the tears had begun to fall, but he wiped them from his cheeks as he locked up the house again and jogged down the walk to where his car was sitting in the driveway. He had briefly considered taking Grant's Charger, left sitting since Leo had driven him in, today, but in the state he was, he didn't think adding the horsepower would be a good idea.

With the tinted windows, and the music turned up, Leo felt isolated, again, wrapped up in his own world, while he drove to the FBI Campus, and, again, the tears fell. It wouldn't be good for this to stay bottled up until he got to Grant. Yes, if he was timing it right, Grant would have finished with a session, and would be on his way to paperwork and office hours before lunch, and then more afternoon sessions. But if Leo was even five minutes off, he risked interrupting Grant and making quite the show of himself, and while he could live with the interrupting, he didn't know how he felt about a classroom full of grown men and women watching him cry after they had just learned how to disarm a bomb.

The fact was, by the time he parked the car in the back lot, and got out, he was wiping tears from his face, again, and hoping that his eyes weren't too red and wet. It wouldn't exactly keep the other instructors and agents from asking questions, and more than anything, Leo just wanted to get to Grant.

Heading in the back door, he stopped at the security checkpoint, dropping his keys, cell phone and wallet into a bucket, before forcing himself to smile at the three guards standing there.

“Hey, Leo!” greeted one of them, Griffin. The other two looked up and over at his name. It wasn't like he wasn't known to these guys. He and Grant were a couple, and he was around at least once or twice a week, not counting work functions.

Once they had all focused on him, though, Leo saw the concern flash in their eyes. He hadn't done a very good job of waiting for the redness to go down, and it was obvious, when Griffin waved him through the body scanner, that they had seen it.

“Here to see Grant?” One of the other guys asked. Leo was fairly sure his name was Towes.

“Uh, yeah.” Leo answered, taking his things from the bucket once Griffin nodded. He slipped his wallet back into his pocket, and glanced at the time on his phone. “Is he...?”

“You're in luck, his morning session just finished.” The last guard, Carver, answered. “Trainees are probably just filing out now and then he'll be free.” He hesitated a second, and then, “You okay?”

Leo took a deep breath, using it to hold himself together. “Yeah. Yeah, I just...” He waved. “Can I go see him? Please?”

“You two are waiting on that call.” Griffin said, quietly. He was a big man, with a graying mustache covering his upper lip. “It finally came, didn't it?”

Leo pressed his lips together, and nodded. That seemed to be all Griffin needed to move past the other two, and wave him forward. “Come on, I'll walk you to 'im. No one'll stop you if you're with me.”

Leo was grateful for that, terribly grateful, and nodded, following Griffin through the maze of hallways. He knew the way around, somewhat, but today he was more than happy to have a guide. Today, how he was right now, he didn't think he would have been able to navigate the building on his own. By the time Griffin stopped and opened a classroom door, Leo wasn't sure how many lefts they had taken as opposed to the rights. All he knew was that Grant was through that doorway, and that what he needed, more than anything, was to walk through that door, reach Grant, and talk to him.

“You free?” Griffin asked. “I got someone here to see you.”

“Yeah.” Leo heard Grant's voice before he stepped forward, into the doorway. “Just finished. Who--” Grant's eyes landed on Leo, and he immediately reached into his back pocket, going for his phone. He pulled it out, glanced at the screen quick, and then nodded to Griffin. “Thanks, Rich. Can you give us a bit?”

Griffin nodded, and waited for Leo to move past him into the room before he shut the door. The second Leo heard the click of the door, he let go of his shaky grasp on himself, moving into Grant's open arms, wrapping his around Grant's waist like a vice.

“I don't have a missed call. Not from them, and not from you, but I assume they called you.” Grant was saying, hands on Leo's shoulders, not pulling him back, but urgent in their grip. “Leo, what? What happened?”

Leo kept his face buried, breathing Grant's scent in, mixed with the crisp smell of their laundry detergent. “It was Rhonda.”

Grant tensed and relaxed under him, waiting, so patiently. Leo hadn't been able to say the words yet, and now they were having a hell of a time moving past the lump in his throat. Pulling his face back, he looked up at Grant, and broke into a smile, unable and unwilling to keep the tears from coming again.

“They picked us.”

He swore he _felt_ Grant's breath catch before he asked, quietly, “They picked us?”

“Yeah!” Leo answered, laughing now, reaching up to hold Grant's face between his hands. “Alicia and Nolan picked us. They picked us!”

Grant's face was breaking into a smile, lighting up the bland, grey room that he taught in. “They picked us. Holy shit. Babe, you know what this means?”

Leo nodded, pulling Grant down into a quick kiss, smiling against his lips. “I know what it means.”

Grant's arms wrapped around him, holding him close while they stood on the podium in his empty lecture hall, both tearing up, both smiling, wide and bright.

“We're going to be dads.”

 


End file.
